The Syrian revolution reached the city of Aleppo, the country's second-largest city, considerably late. The wave of demonstrations against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime began as early as March 2011 in the southern city of Daraa, but only a year and a half later, in July 2012, did the fire spread to Aleppo in the wake of the bombing that killed five senior regime officials. Following that attack, various rebel groups broke into Aleppo and seized control of some of its eastern neighborhoods. It was at that moment that Assad's fate seemed sealed, his downfall merely a matter of days. Assad, however, survived in power and dragged Syria into a bloody civil war, which has spared very little of the country and its people. Assad turned Aleppo, an important industrial and commercial hub with a population of nearly three million people, into a terribly perfect example of what could happen to any city that dared rebel against him. The city was largely turned to rubble, and only around a third of its residents remained there, mostly in the regime-controlled western neighborhoods. A year ago, the war took a dramatic turn when Russian planes and Iranian and Shiite fighters joined the fray on Assad's behalf. The rebels stood little chance against the Russian-Iranian military might. It is worth noting that the opposition camp in Syria still lacks unity. Those same hundreds of fighting factions comprising it have primarily been busy fighting amongst themselves and advancing radical Islamist agendas, which not only has repelled any possible support from the West but from many Syrians as well, who are appalled by the brutal extremism of groups such as the Islamic State group and the Nusra Front. With a great deal of patience and determination, but mainly a total lack of inhibition, the Russian-Iranian steamroller advanced toward Aleppo. The Russian airstrikes -- indiscriminate in nature, perhaps with the clear intention of hitting not only the rebels but the populace supporting them -- left very little of the rebel-held neighborhoods standing. On the path to achieving victory, bustling markets, schools and hospitals were annihilated, along with everyone inside. The job was finished on the ground by thousands of Iranian, Hezbollah and volunteer Shiite fighters, recruited by Iran from across the Middle East. Confronted with the Russian military machine, the rebels never stood a chance. The lack of unity, the absence of agreed-upon and effective military and stately leadership, and the deficient external help, most notably from the United States, proved insurmountable. Aleppo was ravaged, its residents killed or forced to flee from their homes, and the world was silent. It is hard to downplay the achievement for Assad and his partners. The reconquering of Aleppo provides a tailwind for the Syrian despot, and perhaps a light at the end of the dark tunnel in which Syria has wandered these past six years under his leadership. From this point onward, he could turn his efforts toward securing his control in the rural areas surrounding the capital Damascus, where many rebel groups still operate. From there he will set his sights southward, in the direction of the Golan Heights, and simultaneously northward, to the Idlib province, where tens of thousands of insurgents live under the umbrella of Turkish patronage and support. Another possibility, though not urgent, is to battle Islamic State in the east, and by doing so, perhaps to win the gratitude of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in return. The taking of Aleppo, however, does not necessarily indicate an impending end to the war. Assad's army is exhausted, its ranks depleted, with the Russians and Iranians doing the fighting. The blanket is spread thin, as evidenced just this week by the fall of Palmyra to Islamic State fighters, who exploited the regime's focus on Aleppo and its inability to wage simultaneous battles on several fronts. Between 100,000 and 150,000 rebels, forming hundreds of armed groups supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, are still active across Syria. After all, the war in Syria is no longer just for Syrians fighting one another, but a regional war with global ramifications. A great deal depends, therefore, on the global and regional players. It is difficult to assume, however, that the Trump administration will deviate from the course of inaction and weakness demonstrated by the Obama administration. This is just one more reason for Assad to rejoice on his path to possibly winning the war.
